Stuart Elliott: Nike, With Help from Kaepernick, Revives "Just Do It"

Case in point the crossword puzzle that appeared in the September 5 issue of The New York Timesamp160 The clue for 37 across was quotTake a stand by not standingquot and the answer was quotKNEELquotamp160 The answers to six other clues were the names of NFL teams among them the Giants Dolphins and PatriotsThat of course brings up the big question roiling the country for the last two years Who are the Patriots er patriots in the dispute involving the football players who have been kneeling and otherwise protesting during the national anthem to call attention to police brutality race relations and social injusticeamp160 The controversy has become even more contentious since President Trump weighed in with his trademark bombast on the side of well I39m not quite sure but it39s either the anthem the flag the military or more likely himselfThe fracas already was going to grow louder for several reasons the new NFL season was starting ESPN had decided it wouldn39t carry the playing of the anthem before Monday Night Football telecasts and Colin Kaepernick the player who kicked off the protests was told he could proceed with his case against the league on charges that teams were colluding to keep him on the sidelinesamp160 But it all reached DEFCON 1 last week when Kaepernick revealed on Twitter that he39d be the centerpiece of new ads from Nike to mark the 30th anniversary of the brand39s landmark quotJust do itquot campaignquotBelieve in somethingquot urged the initial ad featuring a photo of Kaepernickamp160 quotEven if it means sacrificing everythingquotamp160 It was followed by an anthemic commercial narrated by him that Nike cheekily debuted during the NBC broadcast of the first game of the NFL39s 201819 seasonamp160 The spot themed quotDream crazyquot echoed the famous Apple quotThink differentquot commercial in its celebration of following your own lodestaramp160 No I39m not the author of the anonymous Times OpEd articleKaepernick39s reappearance in Nike39s advertising was surprising he39s been under contract to the marketer since 2011 but hasn39t appeared in anything for two yearsamp160 Not surprising was the ensuing firestorm fed by Trump rightwing media and MAGA Make America Great Again fans who took to social media as they burned or cut up their Nike sneakers or athletic wearCritics derided Nike39s decision as brand suicide and pointed to declines in Nike39s shares in stockmarket tradingamp160 Supporters praised Nike39s decision as brand courage and pointed to increases in online sales of Nike merchandiseFrom my perspective the potential benefits for Nike from the campaign outweigh the risks primarily because for the first time in years there39s buzz about a Nike marketing effortamp160 Never mind MAGA it39s MNRA Make Nike Relevant AgainOnce upon a time Nike was practically unequaled in producing topical ads with talk value so important to a marketer that seeks to reach younger influential consumersamp160 Those ads were so popular as I wrote in the Times that all you had to do to remind people about them was to repeat the slogans quotGotta be the shoesquot quotYou don39t win silver you lose goldquot quotThere39s no finish linequot quotI am not a role modelquot and it almost goes without saying quotJust do itquotNike lost its perch on the cutting edge for a variety of reasonsamp160 It matured growing very large signed endorsers such as Lance Armstrong and Oscar Pistorius who generated as many headaches as headlines and faced myriad brands copying its successful formula even to the point of parody like a campaign Izod is introducing this month themed quotJust go buy itquotI don39t mean to suggest that Nike is reteaming with Kaepernick only for the sake of likes and clicksamp160 The renewed partnership makes sense because it fits with Nike39s image after all it39s a brand that many times before has offered its spokespeople platforms for social or political commentaryamp160 In an era when marketers are being pushed perhaps for the first time to take stands on polarizing issues Nike can assert confidently it has been there and done thatAlso the campaign is a timely and eloquent way to bring to life the quotJust do itquot message for a new generation of shoppers reminding them it is meant to extend beyond athletic performance into the realm of making the world a better place to liveamp160 As Kaepernick declares at the end of the commercial introduced last week quotSo don39t ask if your dreams are crazyamp160 Ask if they39re crazy enoughquotThere39s no denying that Nike carries around a lot of baggage from widespread quotMe Tooquot problems in the workplace to complaints about conditions at its factoriesamp160 Those who want Nike to stop providing a soapbox for those in its ads to discuss more than sports are eager to bring up over and over the company39s shortfalls and comeuppancesWell nobody39s perfect to quote the end of Some Like It Hotamp160 I39d rather a flawed firm join in the conversation to help make a difference than a perfect one that keeps its corporate mouth closedAnd there39s no denying that more could be done to assist the NFL players in getting across the purpose of what they39re doingamp160 Too often the movement is characterized as protesting quotThe StarSpangled Bannerquot instead of as it39s meant to be protesting societal woes during the playing of the anthemamp160 Strong efforts in that direction have included a couple of campaigns from the WP Narrative agencyamp160 One takeaknee which sought to counter perceptions that kneeling is unAmerican featured a powerful video declaring quotFor those who don39t have a voice we take a kneequotSo here39s to Nike Just do it And do it And go back and do it againEditor39s Note Look for the next Stuart Elliott Report on Wednesday October 10Click the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Stuart Elliott: Nike, With Help from Kaepernick, Revives "Just Do It"

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